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Former international students return to their homelands to improve education and expand opportunities for the younger generation. BY SUSAN LADIKA
Investing the time in studying abroad can have a profound, long-lasting impact on the lives of educators.
They may return to their home countries immediately after graduation, or may go back decades later, but they're all driven by the same desire-to improve lives and educations in their home countries. Their approaches are richly influenced by their own years spent studying and working abroad.
They may be striving to influence their home countries' educational systems by adapting a new model to the local environment, providing educational opportunities to those who would not normally be offered such a chance, or taking part in programs that are designed to improve social systems.
Here are the stories of four seasoned international educators who have brought their experiences studying and working in the United States back to their homelands, where they hope to impact the lives of their students, as well as society as a whole.
Piyush Swami
INDIA
Piyush Swami believes his 30-year teaching career in Ohio has served to prepare him for where his life has led him today-founding a small college in his Indian hometown in order to offer higher education to all of the region's students, including those who are members of the country's lowest castes.
"If that (the years in Ohio) was the preparation, this is the test ground," says Swami, who was professor of curriculum and instruction and science education when he retired from the University of Cincinnati in 2011.
Since his retirement, Swami and his wife, Cathy, who retired from her job as a highly honored elementary school principal, have focused their attention on starting the East West Educational Institute in the village of Badnoli, just outside his hometown of Hapur, near New Delhi.
This spring, about 20 students completed their first year at the school, and for the upcoming school year, Swami hopes to have 80 students enrolled at the institute, which offers bachelor's degrees in business administration and computer application.
"It's very gratifying to see how the things I learned in the U.S. can be adapted, modified, and implemented in India," says Swami, who now spends four or five...